


like there was nobody else in the room

by kay_emm_gee



Category: The White Princess (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/M, Music
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 20:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12066306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kay_emm_gee/pseuds/kay_emm_gee
Summary: Jasper thinks Henry and his band need a new sound. Henry thinks they’ll never find the right fit, especially not at an amateur night in a no-name dive bar–and, of course, a certain blonde proves him wrong.





	like there was nobody else in the room

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by Ed Sheeran’s Galway Girl. I meant to post this around Aug 22, but alas, real life got in the way. Enjoy anyways!

Slouched in his seat at the back of the bar, Henry pulled his cap lower and wondered why he had let Jasper talk him into this. They had gone through an absurd number of auditions at the studio, and still no one was the right fit for the band. He still wasn’t sold on needing that extra member; their sound was still good and they had two radio-worthy albums in three years to prove it.

As both agent and family friend, Jasper didn’t agree.  _A fresh sound is what you need_ , he kept insisting,  _something that will be your mark on the music world._ And apparently an amateur night at this back-alley dive bar nestled in the heart of Cardiff was going to where they found that game-changing sound. Lord help them if they were recognized, or if someone managed to actually catch Jasper’s interest.

“Sit up,” Jasper murmured, halfway between exasperation and amusement. “If you miss out on listening, I’ll just drag you back here again next weekend.”

Henry sent him a long look. Jasper just chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder. “It wasn’t too long ago you and your mates were playing in gigs just like this, boy. Give it a chance.”

Because Jasper wasn’t wrong, reluctantly he straightened to attention. The first group was setting up, and Henry eyed them. As he watched them fumble through the process–not from nerves, but from inexperience–he reached for his beer and took a large gulp.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the first band had made his ears bleed, but the next solo singer and the guitar act that followed her weren’t half bad. Still, nothing remarkable enough to attract his attention. After two more sets and twice as many rounds of beer, even Jasper had leaned back in his seat and let his eyes drift away from the stage.

As the second-to-last performers stepped up to play, Henry motioned to the waitress for the bill. He had indulged Jasper long enough. The experiment had failed, and he was itching to get to bed so he could be in the studio tomorrow to finally start working on their next album.

“Not long until the end,” Jasper offered halfheartedly, but when Henry shook his head in protest, he didn’t argue.

Henry only noticed the small band had started playing once the lead started singing. They were good enough, maybe the best of the night. Though he wouldn’t be around long enough to make that judgement in full.

By the time they started their second song, the bill still hadn’t arrived. Huffing in annoyance, Henry craned his neck looking for her. She was nowhere to be found, and instead, one of the performers caught his eyes. Or rather, her backside did.

She was facing away from the audience, clearly arranging something in haste. Maybe one of their mics had gone down. Even in the dimness of the bar, her cascade of light gold curls caught on the light, a stark brightness against her black jeans and shirt. As the music moved deeper into the opening verse, she straightened and settled, arms raised and head half-turned around. He saw the bow move before he heard the soft, staccato whine of a fiddle began to creep into the rest of the melody. She snuck it in and around the other notes seamlessly, letting it slowly take over from the other instruments. As she did so, she let the rhythm twist her around back to the front, until they reached the chorus, which was when she had captured both the audience and the song’s full attention.

A few whistles went up as she let the strings croon and hum loudly under her skilled fingers. Henry was leaning forward, both elbows on the table, eyes on her only. The band was good; she was superb. It wasn’t just the way she worked the fiddle in and out of the waves of the music; it was the way she worked the crowd, seeming to be playing just for each individual, not all of them as a whole. A rare talent, that was, and he couldn’t help but take note.

She used the fiddle for that song only, but Henry watched only her the rest of their time on stage. As a backup singer, she was talented. Even so, it didn’t seem to fit her exactly, Henry thought. She was too present on stage; even at her quietest, eyes went to her, not the lead. They would be better served moving her to duet, or employing the fiddle more often.

“Interesting choice.”

Henry started, then turned to Jasper. “What?”

He jerked his head in the blonde’s direction. “Not what I was envisioning, but…it could work. She could work.”

Incredulous, Henry scoffed. “She’s got an edge, I’ll give her that. But I wasn’t–”

Jasper cut him off with a laugh. “She’s hired.”

“Jasper.”

In his infuriating way of saying a hundred things without a word, his mentor just raised his eyebrows and smiled. Then he stood and swiftly moved towards the bar to finish the task of closing out their tab.

Henry scowled at his retreat, then drained the last of his beer. If it got Jasper off his back, he supposed it wouldn’t do much harm to at least talk to the woman.

When he looked back towards the stage, however, she was nowhere to be found. Standing abruptly, he scanned the crowd for her. Nothing. He moved around the table, drawing closer to the performance area. After another minute, he found her bandmates at the bar, clinking glasses, but not her. Grimacing, he turned in Jasper’s direction. The man simply smiled knowingly and pointed towards the front door. After a short staring contest–which he lost–Henry headed outside.

There she was, leaning up against the far side of the bar’s brick front. She was looking down at her phone, hair loose from her braid and half-obscuring her face. Hands in his jacket pockets, Henry slowly approached her.

“You know what you’re doing with that fiddle.”

She didn’t look up from typing. “No.”

He paused, taken off guard. “What?”

“I’m not interested. Even if you had better pickup lines.”

Half-amused, half-insulted, he snorted. “It was a genuine compliment, but fair enough. I didn’t think that one through.”

She finally looked up at him, suspicion in her eyes, which then widened in recognition. She knew who he was, then. In a flash, though, there wasn’t anything but blue shining in them as she looked him up and down with a half-smile. “Thanks, then.” After a beat, she extended her hand. “Lizzie.”

“Henry,” he said as he appreciated her firm grip. “Where did you learn to play like that?”

Her smile went full and flippant. “The bar under my first flat. Easiest and fastest way to piss off my mum while taking full advantage of the many years I spent dedicated to more classic pursuits.”

Henry considered her more carefully, as he heard clearly the steel underneath the lightheartedness. “You played violin?”

“I’m a woman of many talents.”

Henry raised his eyebrows, and she huffed out a laugh. “Touché. That was me not thinking my words through.”

“Well, you should think this through,” he countered, reaching into his pocket for a business card.

When she took it, her gaze flickered between the text and his face more than once, as if she couldn’t believe he was serious.  _He_  almost couldn’t believe he was serious, because before he walked over to her, he hadn’t even been sure if he was going to make the offer.

“If you’re interested,” he elaborated, in case it wasn’t clear. “Give me–us a call.”

A ghost of an amused smile appeared on her face. From that alone, he might have thought she believed he was kidding her, and that she would chuck the card as soon as she could, but her eyes–they shone with a brave sort of curiosity. So, with a nod farewell, he turned on his heel and headed back inside to find Jasper.

She would call, of that he had no doubt.

Of what he would do when she did–well, of that, he had no fucking idea.


End file.
